prepare for
the unpreparable
"Get Lucky" is a manual for serendipity: what it is,
how it works, and how to put it to work for you.
Available April 17
As the pace of change accelerates and the volume of information explodes, we feel incredible pressure to connect just in time with the people and ideas we need to thrive, even when we don't know who or where they are. But this uncertainty brings tremendous opportunities if we embrace one of the most crucial drivers of success: serendipity.
Planned serendipity is not an abstract, magical notion. It's a practical skill. "Get Lucky" is the indispensable resource for anyone who wants to learn this skill and make serendipity work for them.
Download sample chapterBUY NOW:
"In business, we plan to avert disaster, launch products, and forecast financials, but rarely do we plan to Get Lucky. This method of planned serendipity should be part of every innovator's toolkit."
- Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer, GE
“We live in a world that is more and more volatile and unpredictable, where ‘luck’ plays an increasingly central role. By the end of this book, you will never again view planning luck as a contradiction, but rather as an imperative that cannot be ignored. Whether in your personal life or professional life, open yourself up to the profound possibilities of serendipity.”
—John Hagel, co-chairman, Deloitte's Center for the Edge; and co-author, The Power of Pull
“Serendipity has been part of our not-so-secret sauce at Zappos from the very beginning. We've seen first-hand how breakthroughs are so often due to the spontaneous collisions between people and ideas. Get Lucky provides a framework for understanding how serendipity works, and shows how it can be used as a practice in life and business.”
“You’ve heard the old saw, ‘Chance favors prepared minds.’ Well, Get Lucky is the mind-preparer. This entertaining and practical book makes it clear that luck isn’t just for the lucky anymore.”
“Louis Pasteur and Thomas Jefferson would have endorsed this book. It's a profound explication of an idea they each shared, that luck isn't random, and that you can create the conditions where it flourishes. It's a refreshing reminder that the spark of human creativity leaps into flame when we establish the right conditions.”
“In a fast-moving world, seemingly random customer comments on sites like Facebook can make your year or sink your ship. Get Lucky prepares you and your organization well to recognize and act on these serendipitous moments. Don't leave your success to chance!”
“Customers already run your company-and are moving farther out of your control every day. Fortunately, Thor and Lane are here to explain why this is the best possible thing that can happen, and how to make the most of it.”
Lane has been putting serendipity to work for over ten years. He has founded several companies, from his first, sadly failed startup in 1999 (don't ask) to more successful ventures: co-founding Adaptive Path, the first user experience design firm, and Get Satisfaction, an online customer service community platform used by over 65,000 companies, which he started with "Get Lucky" co-author Thor Muller. Other trending topics of interest include: improv theater as a management technique, pop-up cocktail parties, and tying together behavioral neuroscience, modern network theory, and Buddhism.
Thor's trysts with serendipity began over 15 years ago, when he started out as a first generation Web entrepreneur, creating success stories for Yahoo!, Dell, Bank of America, Intel, Virgin Records, and more. He founded and ran one of the early Web development boutiques, Prophet Communications, along with several other trailblazers, including Trapezo (Web software for syndicating content), Rubyred Labs (a San Francisco-based web apps firm), and of course, Get Satisfaction, the people-powered customer service engine he co-founded with co-author Lane Becker.